As a backyarder on council property, how can I access the prepaid electricity meter inside the main house, which is now empty?

The long answer

If the main house is on government property in Cape Town, the city introduced basic services (water, electricity and rubbish collection) to backyard dwellers as early as 2014. The city defines backyard dwellers as “households on council rental stock property within a given area and registered as being backyard dwellers as determined by Council”.

You have the right to these basic services, which include electricity. So, if you can’t get access to the house to put in electricity, I think the best thing to do is go directly to the municipality and ask them to urgently assist you to get access to the house, which is not on private land, but on government land. If you are not registered as backyard dwellers, you are still entitled to basic services and you could ask them to register you.

You would need to take all your documents like ID and registration documents. It would also be a good idea to make a sworn affidavit about living as a backyard dweller on the property for the last two years, until your husband’s grandfather’s stroke. You should also describe in detail the refusal of the grandfather’s daughters to give you access to the house.

You can go to any walk-in centre or housing office, but the 50 Wale Street Walk-in Centre is a large central one that provides a range of housing services to the City of Cape Town. 

It is open Mondays to Fridays from 07:30 – 13:00. 

There is also a customer care hotline at 0800 323 130

Email: housingdb@capetown.gov.za

If you are not helped by the municipality, you could approach the Black Sash, which is an organisation that gives free paralegal advice. These are their contact details:

Email: help@blacksash.org.za

Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865

Wishing you the best,
Athalie